Commercial vehicles and some passenger vehicles have been adapted to include an interior compartment partition that isolates a vehicle operator cab portion from a designated cargo or passenger portion. Generally, this was achieved by rigidly securing the partition to the vehicle B-pillar and/or a structural roof bow of the vehicle so that a sturdy partition was created. The rigid connection was achieved through the use of mechanical fasteners that went through the partition and into the vehicle B-pillar or roof bow. In these cases, the fasteners went through the B-pillar wall and extended into the B-pillar interior cavity.
As it turns out, however, disturbing the B-pillar with fasteners and holes for the fasteners is problematic. For example, the B-pillar is now used to store side impact air bags. In addition, side impact crash sensors and the accompanying control modules for such systems may also be stored in the B-pillar. In the case of Lane Detection Systems, the B-pillar is often utilized to store radar or lidar systems, as well as the accompanying control modules to provide alerts to the vehicle operator as necessary.
The wiring for vehicles has also increased in complexity. The roof bows and B-pillars, which used to strictly provide structural support, are now used as conduits in which wiring is run to power the safety systems and for other systems within the vehicle.
The use of the B-pillars and the roof bows for safety systems and wiring conduits has greatly reduced their ease for use as mounting structures for cargo partition systems. Indeed, mounting a cargo area partition to the roof bow may risk damaging the wiring that runs through the roof bows. Moreover, attaching a partition directly to the B-pillar may damage the safety systems stored therein and further may interfere with the deployment of air bags stored in the B-pillar.
Vehicle Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are now discouraging anyone from forming holes in the B-pillars or other vehicle structures. The OEMs have found that when holes are formed in these structures that the debris from forming the holes can interfere with other systems. By way of example, debris from a hole drilled into a B-pillar can find its way into seat belt retractors, which are often located in the base of the B-pillar. The debris in the retractors can cause them to not work properly or even fail.
Hence, there is a need for a partition bracket system that rigidly mounts a cargo or a vehicle compartment partition to a vehicle without requiring forming holes in or even welding to a B-pillar of the vehicle. As result, disruption of wiring and negatively affecting the vehicle's safety systems are avoided.